Midway Games sold for USD 100,000

Sumner Redstone has sold his controlling stake of Midway Games for a paltry USD 100,000 (GBP 66,718 / EUR 79,241), or just USD 0.0012 per share.

That 87 per cent will be bought by private investor Mark Thomas, in a deal the Wall Street Journal said will be officially announced today, according to Media Memo.

That same stake was apparently worth around USD 30 million on Friday, and Thomas will also assume Midway's chunky USD 70 million in debt as part of the deal.

Redstone was said to have sold Midway Games to ease his company's - National Amusements' - whopping USD 1.6 billion in debt. Half of that has to be paid back by the end of 2008, apparently, which is just 30 days away.

Midway Games has had a tough year, cancelling unannounced projects, laying off staff and facing the constant threat of delisting from the New York Stock Exchange.

The videogame company will look to Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe to ease many of its troubles, although critics appear to have been less than bowled over so far.

Our thoughts on Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe will pop up later this week.

Bertie is a senior staff writer, which doesn't mean he's old, although he is, a bit. He's part of the furniture here and reports on all kinds of things, the stranger the better. He's a bit odd but then who isn't? @Clert on Twitter.